Project Elementary School

Have I ever told you how we came to live in the house we are in now? Well, it is a fantastic story about God's faithfulness but it is for another time. It is long. And I am wordy. Hence, saving it for another time. The point of me bringing that up is two-fold. One: I have experienced God's faithfulness in times of stress firsthand. Two: We are going to try to sell our house. Let me explain.

 

When we bought our house, it was a quick fix. We knew it would only be temporary and that we were not making an investment. We knew that we would have to make a change before our oldest child started kindergarten. We knew all this 4 years ago.

 

As it always does, time has flown by. While we still have a couple years until kindergarten, the time is now to make a change. You see, in our area there is only one good public kindergarten. One. As you would expect getting into the neighborhood zoned to this one school is not easy. Or cheap. Oh, and did you know that the housing market is not good? Yeah. There is that too.

 

So, here we are with a house that we owe more on than its worth. With "projects" that need to be done. Money to be saved to paid for said projects. And a bad housing market. Not the best situation to be in. My husband and I have looked at the timeline for all this. All this being said, the time is now. As in this summer.

 

So, here we are figuring out the details, making lists, researching and visiting comp properties. We are actually considering trying to do improvements this summer so that we can list our house on the market this fall. Isn't that crazy? My mind is actually spinning because of all the logistics of the entire thing. Oh, and did I mention that our summer is packed already? Right.

 

When all of this information started coming together late last week I was a complete mess. I was in tears and losing sleep. I have been praying a lot and feel much more at peace knowing that God is in control. He knows what we need, what the future holds and all the details in between. He wants to carry the burden for me and will be with me every stressful step along the way. This brings me so much comfort.

Anyways, so that is where I am right now. I just wanted to let you know since I have been a little absent. There is a lot more to the situation than I have shared and I will explain later. Just figure that I have talked enough for today.

I also wanted to share this sweet mom with you. I met her because our daughters are in dance class together. This amazing woman has just begun her battle with breast cancer. I was blessed with the opportunity to photograph her family last week. It was truly an honor. They are absolutely precious. Please join me in praying for this woman and her family. In one short week, her chemo treatment will begin and her life will be very different. See their full preview here.

 

 

This is not light and fluffy

This is not a pretty post. It’s not light and fluffy. It’s a real post. If you only follow this blog for giveaways and etsy tips then that is okay and this post is not for you. If you are not interested in “real” then please feel free to just skip this one and come back later. I will not be offended in the slightest. I told you a few weeks ago that this blog is changing format a little in 2011...that it is becoming more of a sounding board for me and less super focused on crafts. Anyways, this post is real in the sense that it is where my heart is right now. My heart is in a funk. It is an annoying funk too.

Let me start by saying that I am super blessed. I know this. I have an amazing husband, precious children, we all have our health, we are fed and clothed and have more earthly possessions than anyone truly needs. Most of all, I have a heavenly father who loves me for who I am because He created me that way.

I know all this to be true. The problem is that I am in a religious funk. I am in that lull between peaks and valleys. You know what I am talking about? When you are on a high or low, it is easy to seek and pray and sing praises and ask for prayer. But when you are in the boring in-between, it is not as easy. At least it is not for me. In this lull it is easiest for me to go about my day as if I am in charge and not my Savior. I hate this feeling.

You are probably thinking, “Just pull yourself out of it already.” “Have a quiet time and dig deeper.” Well, I have a hard time finding the motivation and drive to do even that. I am sure you are right, spending consistent time in the word and in prayer would probably “fix” things or at least start to. The problem is that my heart is not in it. I am just on auto pilot going about my life filling my days with menial tasks.

I am not saying that I have turned away from my faith or anything because that is certainly not true. I know what Jesus did for me and adore Him for it. I know what God is capable of and I know that He is with me in this lull and desperately wants to see me come out of it. I have not turned my back. I am just in a funk.

Like I said before, I am a very blessed person. I have experienced many, many, many religious high points in my life. Moments that I knew without a shadow of a doubt were God’s blessings and miracles. I can share plenty of those stories. At this point in my life, I have yet to experience a really low point. We have not had anything super tragic happen to our family, most of our relatives are still living, we are employed and healthy. This is what scares me.

I know that God works wonders through tragedy and sorrow. It is not intentional pain that He inflicts, but it is through the circumstances that He brings people closer to Him. I don’t want that to happen to me. Not that tragedy is avoidable, because it is not, but I just don’t want something terrible to be the reason that I get out of this pit. I want to make it out while I am in this in-between stage. I want to be close to Him again. I want to feel His presence daily and have the drive to spend much needed time in prayer. I want to be in a high place before our circumstances change…because they will. It is only a matter of time.

 

One of these is not like the other

Tomorrow afternoon I am speaking at a conference. Yes, you heard me right. I am speaking. In front of people. At a business conference.

You see, earlier this summer I was asked by a friends mom if I would be interested in speaking at a conference. She explained that she was impressed with me and my business and would love for me to talk about my experience to the group that she chairs. I was seriously caught off guard and flattered so I agreed. I obviously did not know what I was getting into.

She followed up with me in late August and made sure that I was still interested. She gave me the date and time information as well as the title of my segment. "Career & Motherhood Challenge: Internet Entrepreneur Solution" is the title of my segment. Sounds pretty simple, right? I mean, basically I am just going to tell my story and then give some practical application on how to go about starting your own business.

I began to put my thoughts together on paper and started thinking about what images I wanted to use with my speech. About a week ago I was emailed the entire program. That is when I started to panic.

The conference is a one-day event and has 5 speakers including myself. As I read over the program, I noticed it. The other four speakers are all doctors! As is they have Phd at the end of their name! Panic set it. There is a professor from 4 major universities. And then there is me.

Now, don't get me wrong. I have a Master's degree. But let's be honest, it is no phd. And I am not a professor so I don't speak all day for a living. So, needless to say I am feeling seriously out of my league. What I thought was going to be a casual speaking engagement has turned into a pretty big deal and I am freaking out.

Oh, and did I mention that my time slot is 45 minutes! Yeah, that is a seriously long time. Please pray for me.